The Future of Consumerist

Over the last twelve years, Consumerist has been a steadfast proponent and voice on behalf of consumers, from exposing shady practices by secretive cable companies to pushing for action against dodgy payday lenders. Now, we’re joining forces with Consumer Reports, our parent organization, to cultivate the next generation of consumer advocacy.

Stay tuned as Consumerist’s current and future content finds its home as a part of the Consumer Reports brand. In the meantime, you can access existing Consumerist content below, and we encourage you to visit Consumer Reports to read the latest consumer news.

A new study shows that despite the best efforts of lawmakers and mortgage-service companies, little is actually being done to help homeowners facing foreclosure, says the Wall Street Journal.

The study, compiled by the State Foreclosure Prevention Working Group, made up of banking regulators and attorneys general in 11 states, found that seven out of 10 borrowers who are seriously delinquent on their mortgages aren’t on track to receive any kind of help with their payment problems.

The number of delinquent borrowers working with their lenders has increased, the report found, but overall increases in the number of delinquent loans have outstripped those gains. The proportion of borrowers who weren’t engaged in any sort of loan workout was unchanged from the group’s previous report in February.

“While there’s been a lot of effort put in by mortgage servicers and government officials, there has been little change in outcomes for homeowners,” said Mark Pearce, deputy banking commissioner for North Carolina. “We’re still treading water.”

Some AG’s, such as Iowa’s Tom Miller, are not ruling out litigation if mortgage companies don’t do more for troubled homeowners.

“If loan mitigation and modification don’t produce fruitful results for homeowners, I, for one, would be inclined to look at litigation possibilities to secure help for homeowners,” he said.